2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman

Mini is busy rounding off a five year period of intensive redesigning. The Mini Cooper, Countryman and Clubman have all been put through extensive revamping in the past three years. Now, Mini is already back with a fast, new addition to the Clubman family. It’s the 2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman (JCW) and is based on the 2016 Clubman. The John Cooper Works element in the title stands for Mini’s line of high performance vehicles. That’s why the JCW Clubman features not only a cool exterior, but also a hot engine under the hood. In the interior other racing features can be found as well. All in all, Mini did its best to create a race-worthy car for the 2017 model year.

Exterior design

First of all, what makes this JCW Clubman stand out from the regular Clubman is the red detailing. There is a red stripe that runs over the grille and red brake calipers, clearly visible through the wheels. On the right side of the grille is a “Works” badge, as is on the right side of the rear and above both of the front wheel arches.

Furthermore, the front fascia is visibly different from the regular 2016 Clubman. Whereas the regular Clubman has dark horizontal lines on the grille, the JCW Clubman features a wire mesh pattern. Also, the air intake underneath the grille is larger than on the regular Clubman, because the engine needs more air to keep from overheating. That’s why the left and right air vents on the fascia are enlarged too, at the expense of the foglights unfortunately. Finally, there is a small air vent above the centre logo on the hood.

Side and rear

Looking at the side, it seems like the 2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman has a lower stance. This is probably due to the sports suspension Mini added. Moreover, the standard wheels on the JCW Clubman are 18 inch. There is only one other wheel option, which is 19 inch. It’s a lot less options than the regular Clubman offers, but that one comes standard with 16 inch wheels. The rest of the JCW Clubman’s side view remains the same.

More changes are found on the car’s rear. First of all, there is a short overhang above the rear window and the lower fascia differs. It features one exhaust on the left side and one on the right, in contrast to the single exhaust on the regular Clubman. The exhausts are a bright, shiny chrome, whereas the regular Clubman’s are plain steel.

The exterior colours remain practically unaltered. The 2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman has an additional uni colour in dark green. Also, the JCW Clubman has only six available metallic exterior colours instead of ten. Roof an dmirror casings are available in black, white, or an all new red colour!

Interior design

The interior has a range of options. For starters there are four cloth or leather and cloth combinations to choose from. On top of that, there are five all-leather options for seats and colour options for dash and door panel inserts.

The standard interior seats have been replaced by JCW performance sport seats with integrated head rests. Optional are heated front seats. All throughout the car there are LED-strips that are operable with the ambient lighting feature in the car. Colour combinations of red and black and blue and red accomplish a wonderful interior atmosphere.

The wide center stack and spheric 6.5 inch infotainment screen niche from the regular Clubman have been carried over. A Harman Kardon sound system is optional.

Engine specs

Mini has created the most powerful engine they ever made and put it in the 2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman. The engine is actually Mini’s traditional 2.0 liter twin-turbo four cylinder, but is retuned in such a way that it makes 228 horsepower. In comparison, the regular Clubman makes 134 or 189 horsepower, so that’s quite the overhaul.

The tweak of the engine is due to retuning of the engine’s exhaust system. Updated and upgraded software and increased turbo pressure also had a share in the horsepower gain. Either a six speed manual or an eight speed Steptronic transmission are available. ALL4 All Wheel Drive comes standard and continually monitors road conditions and sends power to the wheels accordingly. Launch Control Function keeps the wheels from slipping when hitting the gas at standstill.

The John Cooper Works Sport Suspension lowers the car by 0.4 inch, thereby lowering the centre of gravity and increasing aerodynamics.

Tech specs

For operating the infotainment screen, Mini offers the Mini Connected software and smartphone app. Other options are rear parking sensors, a rear view camera, and proximity-key entry with push-button ignition. There is also adaptive cruise control available for option.

Safety features include Collision Warning with Automatic Emergency Braking.

Price and sale date

The 2017 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman is on sale across Europe. In the US the JCW Clubman will arrive at dealerships in December of 2016. Prices are not public yet, but we expect a $10,000 raise over the regular Clubman, which makes $35,000 starting price.